02:02 PM EDT, 05/24/2024 (MT Newswires) -- US equity indexes rose after midday Friday as investors weighed the strength in the monthly consumer sentiment and durable goods data.

The Nasdaq Composite climbed 1.1% to 16,913.1, with the S&P 500 up 0.7% to 5,304.8 and the Dow Jones Industrial Average 0.2% higher at 39,151.5. Except for health care, all the other sectors rose intraday, led by communication services, utilities, and consumer discretionary.

While the S&P and the Nasdaq headed for the fifth straight week of gains following the April lows, the Dow seemed headed towards bucking that trend.

In economic news, the University of Michigan consumer sentiment index was revised upward on Friday to 69.1 for May from 67.4 in the preliminary estimate, compared with expectations for 67.7 in a survey compiled by Bloomberg. That was still below the final reading of 77.2 in April.

Respondents to the Michigan survey saw a 3.3% inflation rate over the next year, up from 3.2% in April and the highest since November, while their expectation for annual inflation over the next five years remained at 3%.

Orders for tangible items with an average life of at least three years increased 0.7% sequentially last month to about $284.07 billion, following a downwardly revised 0.8% gain in March, the Census Bureau said. The consensus in a survey compiled by Bloomberg was for a 0.8% decrease in April.

"Firmer durable goods orders and shipments suggest US business investment remains sturdy," BMO Capital Markets Senior Economist Sal Guatieri said. "It was the third straight monthly advance, led by most major components, including general machinery and computing gear."

Goldman Sachs moved its forecast for the Federal Reserve's first rate cut back one meeting, from July to September. It said earlier this week comments from Fed officials suggested a July cut would likely require inflation easing and meaningful signs of softness in activity or labor market data. "After the stronger May PMIs and lower jobless claims, this does not look like the most likely outcome," Goldman said.

The US 10 Treasury yield was little changed at 4.47%, while the two-year yield rose 1.5 basis points to 4.95%.

In company news, the steepest decliner on the S&P 500 was Intuit (INTU), whose shares dropped 8.1% intraday after the chipmaker said it expects to lose around one million customers using the free version of TurboTax for the full fiscal year.

Workday (WDAY) shares fell 15% intraday, the worst performer on the Nasdaq, as a cut to the full-year outlook for subscription sales amid slowing headcount growth took the shine out of better-than-expected results in fiscal Q1.

Ross Stores ( ROST ) jumped 9 intraday, among the top gainers on the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq, as the discount store chain lifted its full-year earnings outlook.

West Texas Intermediate crude oil jumped 1.2% to $77.76 a barrel.

Gold decreased 0.1% to $2,334 an ounce, while silver climbed less than 0.1% to $30.47.